It has long been known to use such materials as marble, granite and other naturally-occurring stone materials for archtectural purposes. Many such materials -- particularly some of the more common limestone materials -- have been used especially for structural purposes for many centuries; particularly because of their relatively easy accessibility, availability, and ability to withstand compression forces. However, other such limestone materials as marble have also been used for decorative purposes -- e.g., because they can be polished to a very high finish; and also because such materials as marble occur in very many different colours and with many different types of patterns. However, the use of newer building compositions and techniques in present-day construction of large buildings precludes the use of material such as marble and other like materials except for decorative purposes. More importantly, the supply of exotic marble is dwindling, and quarries are becoming more inaccessible and further away from the site of ultimate use of the marble or other material.
Thus, it becomes desirable to provide a product and a method for producing that product so that a surface of marble or other natural stone material may be applied to the walls and floors -- and indeed, ceilings -- of both the exterior and interior of a building. Because of the great weight of marble and other such materials, where the specific gravity may be anywhere from 1.9 to 3.0, it becomes desirable to provide a lightweight composite stone veneer product having a naturally-occurring stone surface but which is of a weight that can be easily handled. Also, it is desirable to provide as little thickness of stone material as possible so as to effect a reduction in costs and to extend the use of a given supply of material.
Other purposes to which seemingly solid stone material structural elements may be put include movable wall partitions, for example in the place of steel or gypsum-cladded, printed or vinyl-covered wall partitions; as well as for such other furniture and structural uses as desk and table tops, benches, billiard table tops, vanities, stair treads, doors, shelves, etc.
It is known, for example, that slabs of solid marble which are three-fourths of an inch or greater in thickness and two feet by four feet in area generally may require two men to handle them or to set them in place; and to install such slabs requires skilled craftsmen, especially when such slabs are being used for example as cladding on the walls of buildings. As noted above, the cost, accessibility and availability of the marble or other such material -- even when it is used solely for architecturally decorative purposes -- is such as to possibly make the delivered cost prohibitive, let alone the handling and installation costs of the marble. However, when large panels of a composite stone veneer proudct can be delivered to the job site for handling and installing by a relatively unskilled person, and at no greater cost than the smaller solid panels, the cost of the use of such materials for architecturally decorative purposes may not be prohibitive. Still further, when large slabs of naturally-occurring stone material are used in composite stone veneer products, which may even be gently curved in contradistinction to the previously usable thicker slabs of the same stone material, the opportunities for architectural design are greatly enhanced. More especially, bookmatched slabs of marble are able to be realized as a consequence of the method of making composite stone veneer products in accordance with this invention.
It is also desirable to provide a method of producing composite stone veneer products having at least one face of naturally-occurring slabable stone material where the method of producing the composite veneer can be carried out using standard stone working material such as slabbing gang saws, grinders, polishers, chip hammers, etc. It is also desirable to provide a method of producing composite stone veneer products having at least one face of a naturally-occurring stone material where the supporting stratum of the composite stone veneer product is a relatively inexpensive material which can withstand high compressive forces. Such a supporting stratum material may be plywood, or more particularly it may be commercially available honeycomb material which might be produced from paper, aluminum foil or other suitable materials.